GMAT from 420 to 600 to 690--Review of materials, tutors and courses

Question

Starting the journey 
My background: I am from Mexico, I am engineer and I graduated with honors from a top school in my country, i am a terrible test taker because I have a bad case of anxiety (to the point I physically get sick the day of the exams).
I started studying in May 2019, I took a practice test in cold, without even reviewing what DS was, and I scored 420 (Q27, V21)..
I joined a class with a local tutor in my city of Guadalajara, honestly it was not very useful, we have a precoinceived idea that tutors or classes online are not as good as physical ones, I will talk more about that later.. After finishing his course 2 months after I was able to raise my score for to 530, I kept studying on my own and increased my score to 580 (Q37,V33).. I saw that many problems I got wrong on quant were a lack of knowledge, and think was not really comfortable with the material tested.

Getting better at the GMAT  
I decided to look for an online course, I read reviews of magoosh, manhattan and TTP, so tried the free versions of some courses, but nothing felt as good as TTP, I thought the reviews were exaggerated, claiming all this increment in points after finishing the course, but the course is actually very helpful.
 
Quant: I started TTP in October 2019 and finished the content in February 2020 
Verbal: I tried Manhattan guides bu SC was the only useful one for me. Aristotle CR , was way more comprehensive and I felt the strategy of Manhattan of drawing a table and reading the question first was not working at all for me. For practice questions, speacially in early stages, LSAT is a good option, it helps you with your reading skills.

I finished all the content, I was starting my practice test phase again in february- March but then the coronavirus happened and I had change cities and few family issues I had to deal with, so I stopped studying regularly until July.

In my practice test scores in July-August I was scoring Q42-Q44, I really felt way more confident in the questions. After finishing TTP you really build stong foundations, but after finihsing the content it is important to get test your acquired skills with Official Guide questions, just for getting familiar with the writting and style of the questions.

My verbal was in the V34- V37 range, my improvement came mainly from CR, bu my SC was still weak.

Real Exam , private tutoring and strategies

On August I decided to keep studying focusing on my weaknesses, but my scores did not improve from at all. I scored 650 on August 2020 and on October I scored again another 650 on my practice tests. Here is where I decided to look for help, I cam to a review of  GMATCoachBen  how he scored 770 multiple times and I felt identified with everything he said, the importance of focusing and having the right mindset.

I worked with him for a month and my practice tests start increasing to 670, and even a 750.. He was so organized with the error log, type questions, we worked particular questions on how to solve them faster. Ben also helped me with strategy things, I felt this made the difference between a Q44/Q43 and a Q47/Q48, he showed me which question are worth really working on, he set me lists of particular problems with the level of difficulty I should be working on. Not only he helped me with content but also with mediation and mindset.

Official test on the 4th of November 600 (Q42,V32): I took it at 11 am and I started with quant, It felt at the moment harder than gmatprep and OG, but I reflected on some problems after with  GMATCoachBen  I realized the nerves made simpler problems look more complicated, and I was scoring higher than 650 in my practices tests, so I decided to keep working with Ben for one month more before my re-take.

I ordered the ESR and worked on Quant, I drilled 35% , 45% and 55% difficulty level questions. I redo gmat prep exams 1 and 2, just to feel more confident before the exam. On verbal I focused on SC but my approach was more about meaning, I think this was a game changer for me in SC, using the rules to eliminate 2 or 3 options but then choosing the last one based on meaning.

Official test 30th of November 690 (Q47, V36): I took first verbal and then Quant, and I focused on getting the first 15 questions correct even if I take a bit longer, particularly fro Quant.

Materials, Courses and Tutor

If you are scoring less than 500 on your diagnostic, I would work on basics like multiplicacion, fractions and divisions on Khan academy for a few weeks and on basic grammar before touching GMAT courses.

For Quant: Ï would advice TTP, It is really comprehensive and all content you need for building your foundations is taught in the course.

Verbal: CR -Aristotle, Reading - I never trained for it, just LSAT and OG, SC - Manhattan helped me only for learning the rules, but working with my tutor I learned to use the rules with a more meaning focus. I didnt try TTP verbal so I cannot comment on that.

If you are struggling after completing a course, you feel solid with the content, but you still struggle to pass 650 and you need a coach more than just a teacher, I definately recommend  GMATCoachBen . He will work on your weaknesses in a strategic way, analyze what type of problems and difficulty level you need to work on to achieve your goals.

GMATCoachBen · Answer

Jojogmat , Congrats again on your tremendous improvement! Thank you for your kind words and sharing your success story -- I know that your disciplined training and persistence will help inspire others to reach their goals.

Best wishes with your applications, MBA, and career -- I know that you have a very promising and exciting future ahead!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Jojogmat,

Great job!! Thank you for sharing and good luck with things moving forward.

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